Valles Calchaquíes (with Quebrada de Cafayate, Cachi and Los Cardones)
Colourful canyons, pretty colonial towns and cacti in the triangle between Salta, Cachi and Cafayate (Argentina)
Tag: Desert
Talampaya and Ischigualasto (Valle de la Luna)
Bizarre rocks and the oldest dinosaurs in the world (Argentina)
San Pedro de Atacama
Around San Pedro de Atacama (Chile): Viewpoints in the Atacama Desert, excursions to lagoons in the Andes and to the Tatio geyser.
From Uyuni to San Pedro and ascent of Licancabur
Jeep tour (with an annoying group) through spectacular scenery: from Salar de Uyuni (Bolivia) via Laguna Colorada and Laguna Verde to San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) with ascent of the Licancabur volcano.
White Desert
In the White Desert near Farafra, one feels transferred into a painting by Dali. Everywhere you look, wondrously shaped knobs of white chalk lime. With imagination you can find faces, animals, flames, tables and more. You don’t even need imagination to see the mushrooms. Sometimes the ground looks like snowdrifts, which look especially crazy when … Continue reading “White Desert”
Oasis of Siwa
Where else do you see more donkey carts rumbling along the road than cars? The oasis of Siwa is still far remote from everything, even though there are now street lamps that look as if they had strayed here from Paris. A thicket of date palms, two large salt lakes and in the background the … Continue reading “Oasis of Siwa”
Sinai
Deep blue water full of coral reefs, with reddish granite mountains towering behind. So beautiful that this is the third time I’ve come to this coast. In places, the granite rocks are criss-crossed by swarms of black dykes like a zebra pattern. Nuweiba is almost deserted, the camps and restaurants are empty and the few … Continue reading “Sinai”
Makhtesh Ramon
The “crater” Ramon in the Negev Desert in Israel was not formed by a meteorite impact, but by erosion of a fold
Masada
At the ancient fortress overlooking the Dead Sea (Israel)
Dead Sea and Madaba
Splashing in salt water, the gorge in the Wadi Mujib reserve and Byzantine mosaics (Jordan)
Desert Castles in Jordan
Another day trip takes me to the “Desert Castles” in the east, most of which are not castles at all, but probably holiday homes of the Umayyad dynasty (see also Damascus and Jerusalem). Perhaps they were also intended for trade, or for pilgrims on their way to Kufa or Medina, or they were farms, or…. … Continue reading “Desert Castles in Jordan”
Dana
An old village above a gorge, bizarre sandstone cliffs and gnarled juniper trees in southern Jordan
Wadi Rum
By jeep, camel and on foot through a desert of rocks and sand in the south of Jordan
Palmyra
Ancient ruins in the Syrian desert
Yazd
Desert city with famous wind catchers in Iran
Jaisalmer
In the Golden City in Rajasthan (India)